Tool for removing radio tubes and vibrators



April 3, 1951 A. c. POTHIER ET AL TOOL FOR REMOVING RADIO TUBES AND VIBRATORS Filed June 29, 1948 Mr C; oihiei" fatented Apr. 3, 1351 TfifiLFQB nizmome RADIO wane i e HBBATQBS;

"rema nien iee r la es he a 90. e aie eri .ega te to the .removalof radio whee-Vibrato 1., d e m r bi e s all we? e re? moireq linder very try n iccimiitioris.

One o the .olqi t of the .mventio is be PIP:

yiqle ,e eievice 9i this e a aei r wh li'w ll iqu kly end easil emq e iedie -t b e d, w like most difliciilt conditions.

Amine: ob e t; .of ihe inven ion i 1 2 rpy si v file! Q t ielaa reoter w ch will q ckly and a y moye radio il a d the like regar le s A .ili ther 0.1m; of 'theimientieh is. to p wide ihe ueheei weave-em rg p r ene- Ans iher 1mm; Q h nve iien' s, $9 rq id flex 9 9i isflcherae er i h e he mi ts se i e? b m eQcidentally e er d, thbueh n pa r-ts are eg silygssembledand maybequiokly gisalsgembled wh endesined.

{still anothe ob ec of we n qn is to pro.- yifi ev-s v ee thi ha c e i Whieh a emflpth, effici n'q; nd durable ool is in ured by mason 9 parti ular w i e -tio between the opera ng le /er and other parts.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be appanent .tp thoserslgilled in the radio art from the following description, when tak n in onnection with the a companyin showin n h h= Figure 1 is a plan view of the 1:901 in combiner t on with a xa memery e rese tation of any eeeyenti nal radiq;

Fi ure 2 is a, perspective view of the 1:901 posiened t e ov ai ei ieu .3 s a e e e et on vl v ew or the m n in combination with a, tube it has 'liftedirgm plape; pa rt of the tool being shown in seetiontp Inore e e li ie re e S ru ure:

Fi 4 is a me ar i e l efipn l iew e he e i wi wr b o n wa e P dei' fl inrs et v ew-9i the feet oHz-h "tool;

, e .g move tubes E 117, 11 .nieii i a abs- 1e p tiiq ierlyfifgle. glass take will be eecleis oee t t in we Li e 9f ibl e W0rdi;ub iine or els where, it'isim e i. onl radio tubes il ed in ile eete. aviation edaii, but eleo v .,ra r s exid 4 1 sie es'n e $1 101; .eets. N

4.1 91* integ a wi h th w end q lthe i ubi l member Ash-est ehow 'in F gu e the to of Fi e oot ma he l neci, es'in c td b num a 51,91 otherwise roughened. in any desired manner to proyide ,a better' g ipping s1. 1rfei ce HON-SEQ within t is tubule: mem e is spindle or plun er i W er fexe l ha min lower end 6. This pointed lower end maksfa. minute indentati i oo o the lQha's is, in th ppe 9 f I9 1 5 sf age, .1

bein ,quiz sl err eeq'in theld si d 'pei i e for tuberefnovafl ch obv ioiis lyfw (11d not Joe the cese i-f-flhe l-lowe'r'engiof i hespindi and the pOinted end' p 'o'jecteci e-ram clhe {6612- during the bs fi mn v r be fpe 55 The lever iand handle 2 are shown as-s01id,

3 and the lever is provided with a generally cylindrically cavity or bore 1 having a seat 8 at its lower end to cooperate with a ball-shaped head 9 provided on the upper end of the spindle 6, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The upper portion of the cavity or bore is threaded at ID to receive a screw l l which has a fiat lower end. This screw is preferably provided with an irregularly shaped cavity l2 to receive the end of any appropriate tool for seating and removing the screw. When the lever l is in its upwardly inclined position, the lower end of the screw is slightly spaced from the ball-shaped head 9 of the spindle, as shown in Figure 4. Below the seat 8 the lever I has an appropriately cut-away portion l3.to permit freedom of relative movement between the lever and r the spindle, and in the specific form illustrated the spindle at this point is slightly tapered toward 4 I the ball-shaped head 9.

Loosely mounted on the upper end of'the spin-' dle 6, below the ball-shaped head, is an elongated washer l4, and as shown in Figure 2 this washer is curved in cross-section to make a neat fit with the curvature of the lever. Between this washer and the hand rip 2 a coil'spring I5 is mounted on the spindle 6.

In connection with the construction described immediately above, and best shown in Figure .4, it will be noted that the coil spring normally forces the spindle 6 and the lever l upwardly, so

that the lower end of the spindle is normally housed within the sleeve 4, and that free upward movement of these parts is limited by the side of the spindle abutting against the wall of the cutaway portion l3. It will also be noted that by the construction described the parts cannot become accidentally separated, but that to disassemble the parts it is only necessary to remove the screw H and withdraw the spindle 6.

Numeral it refers to a radio tube which may be of any desired shape and type, and the tube may be entirely of glass, or of glass with a metal base, or of any other material of which radio tubes are made. And, of course, the tube may be mounted in position by any of the well known means. In the specific form illustratedthe tube is ofglass with a metalbase l'L and the base is provided with a depending centrally arranged plug l8 around which are a plurality of depending fingers l9. .In mounting the tube in operative position the plug 18 and fingers 19 are inserted in appropriate openings 20 and 2|, respectively, as is well known. While the tubes are easily inserted in a set, it is often most dilficult to remove them, because of the small space in which a tool can operate, and it is particularly difficult when the parts have become corroded, with resulting verdigris deposits, etc. And the problem of removal is aggravated, of course, when the tubes must be removed when high heated, as is often the case. Beforedescribing the removal operation, attention is called to the shape of the foot 5 relative to the tubular member or sleeve l. The drawings illustrate the tool in use with tubes or vibrators which are cylindrical in shape. And by reference to the drawings, particularly Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that when the tool is in vertical position the foot inclines slightly downwardly from the tubular member 4, so that the foot is readily inserted beneath the tube or vibrator.

However, radio tubes, vibrators, and the like are often made of such shape that an upper portion thereof is of greater diameter than the lower portion or base. The presentinvention is parinstance as of the cylindrical type.

the tube is bulged or flared or any shape having lower portion or base.

ticularly adapted to the removal of tubes and the like of such shapes. As mentioned hereinbefore the foot 5 inclines slightly downwardly from the sleeve 4, and thus the tool may be inclined to the vertical, to clear an enlarged part of the tube or the like, and foot 5 will still be fiat upon the floor of the chassis, in proper position to be inserted for the removal operation.

This is best understood by reference to Figure 3. Let it be assumed that the parts in that figure are shown prior to the operation of the tool to lift the tube. The tool is in its vertical position and the foot is inclined. downwardly so that its toe rests on the floor of the chassis, ready to be inserted beneath the tube, which is shown in this But suppose an upper portion of greater diameter than the In that event it is only necessary to incline the tool'slightly outwardly from the vertical position, as far as necessary to clear the enlarged part of the tube, or until the entire foot rests upon the chassis floor, whereupon the toe still remains in position to be inserted beneath the tube. Thus it is clear that even in the restricted spaces within which the tool operates, it is particularly designed to remove tubes and the like regardless of the shape thereof.

The operation of the device in removing tubes, vibrators, etc., is extremely simple. The handle 2 is always in fixed position relative to the .depending tubular member ,or sleeve 4; these two parts preferably being arranged at right angles, as clearly shown in the drawings. When the operator takes the device in his hand, the horizontal handle rests on his fingers, and the sleeve 4 projects downwardly through his fingers. With the tool in this position it is only necessary to lower the hand until the foot 5 strikes the fioor or base 22 of the chassis, and then force the foot under the bottom of the tube; the position of the parts now being as illustrated in Figure 2. In some cases it is necessary to tip a tube slightly for the insertion of the foot 5.

The parts being in the positionfshown in Figure 2, it is only necessary to press down ion the lever l to move it about the upper end of the spindle; the ball-shaped head 9 on the spindle acting as a fulcrum for the lever. This leverage movement lifts the handle 2 and with it the at tached tubular member with its foot 5. Of course the pointed end 6' of the spindle remains in en gagement with the floor 22 of the chassis. This action results in lifting the tube vertically; its removal being easy, quick and certain. It should be mentioned at this point that when the device is operated to remove a tube, it is usually neces sary to press a finger of the other hand against the opposite upper end of the tube to maintain it in substantially vertical position during, re-. moval. The position of the parts when the device has been operated to remove a tube is shown in Figure 3.

The device is now released, whereupon the spring l5 forces the lever I away from the grip 2, to thereby draw the lower end of the spindle 5 within the tubular member t; the upper movement of the lever and spindle being limited as hereinbefore described.

As stated above, in the removal operation, the lever l fulcrums about the ball-shaped head 9 on the upper end of the spindle. This and the associated parts constitute one of the important improvements in the combination, ov r thedis 5 closure of the tool disclosed in our above-mentioned application Serial Number 755,564, of which this application constitutes a continuation in part. When the lever I is depressed, to lift a tube, the base of the screw H rests upon and rocks about the curved upper surface of the head 9 producing an unusually smooth operation, and

, the relative movement between the spindle 6 and the lever I is taken care of by the ball-shaped head 9 and its seat 8 in a manner to augment the smoothness of operation. And the washer M having a cross-sectional curvature the same as the curvature of the lever, to fit neatly thereabout, prevents any interference of the spring in the smoothness of operation. And in this construction it is apparent that the parts cannot become separated accidentally, but the tool can be easily disassembled by removal of the screw l I.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that we have devised a very simple and inexpensive tool which greatly facilitates the removal of tubes, vibrators and the like, however limited the working space may be, and regardless of the corroded condition of the parts or the heated condition of the tubes or the fragility thereof.

Having fully described the invention, what we claim is:

1. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot at the lower end of the tubular member and extending laterally therefrom, said foot shaped to engage under a tube, a spindle housed within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of the chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the tubular member, a hand lever operable to lift the tubular member, said lever having a cavity and an opening from the cavity through the lower side of the lever, the upper end portion of the spindle passing through said opening, a rounded head on the extreme upper end of the spindle and housed within the cavity, the diameter of the head being greater than the diameter of the opening, and said lever fulcrumed about the'rounded head on the spindle.

, 2. A tool for removing radio tubes including a slender tubular member adapted to be inserted within restricted spaces in a set, a foot at the lower end of the tubular member and extending laterally therefrom, said foot shaped to engage under a tube, a spindle housed within the tubular member and adapted to engage the floor of the chassis, the upper end of the spindle extending beyond the tubular member, a hand lever operable to lift the tubular member, a rounded head on the upper end of said spindle, said lever having a cavity, the rounded head seated in said cavity, a plug or the like closing the upper end of said cavity, said plug engaging and rocking about the rounded head on the spindle in the operation of said lever.

ARTHUR C. POTHIER. ARNOLD C. HOWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

